Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:

The Credit and Collections team is responsible for performing daily activities such as dunning and collection, dispute management and credit management, together with the support in projects and process standardisation initiatives. The pursue of excellence in all deliverables and being recognized as a highly trusted partner by stakeholders are the pillars for the team’s success, ensuring a stable and flawless business platform to adidas Europe.

Key Responsibilities:

• Ensure a timely collection of open receivables balance by working closely with the customer, internal stakeholders and solve any causes of non-payments.

• Ensure that all payments are received are allocated accurately and timely without any errors.

• Follow-up in case of discrepancies and ensure they are handled within a reasonable time frame.

• Be accountable and demonstrate ownership, being able to manage escalations towards management, proposing proactive feedback summary and recommended solutions in alignment with the department policy.

• Be able to back-up the Team Leader solving operational complex situations, and to guide, provide training and support to other team members by applying streamlined approaches.
• Lead short-term defined scope projects or support larger projects within finance operations also processing periodic reviews to identify, assess and take action to mitigate risks to project success.

• Manage customer relationship, which includes problem resolution and root cause analysis.

• Assess and review the credit risk on the customer on regular basis to mitigate risk for adidas according to credit policy.

• Perform review, analysis and proposal of release on credit block deliveries.

• Provide insight in the development of the accounts receivable position of the customer to the Credit & Collections leadership team and Sales / Finance stakeholders.

• Act as the point of contact for the process related issues and support on escalations

• Track disputes, forward to the right department for their solution and follow-up until their closing.

• Identify the improvement opportunities and support their implementation.

• Provide insight into the calculation of the required provision for uncollectable balances.

• Support requests from internal and external stakeholders.

• Establish and maintain strong financial controls over the work performed.

• Ensure desktop procedures are updated in line with standards and policies.

Key Relationships:

• Cash Application

• Customer Primary Data

• Account and Sales Operations

• Sales

• Market Finance

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Strong Finance Accumen

• Solid experience with SAP and Excel

• Experience in a Shared Service environment or similar

• Ability to read, write and communicate in English and German in a business environment setting.

• Ability to pay close attention to detail

• Solid interpersonal skills combined with a high degree of customer orientation

• Ability to navigate easily within complex organizations, connect with a variety functions, audiences, management styles, or cultures.

• Strong problem solving and analytical skills

• Highly results driven and self-motivated team player with compassion, integrity, trust and perseverance.

• Curious and growth mindset; keen to learn and approach subjects outside of comfort zone, look beyond the obvious.

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:
• University degree in Accounting, Business Administration or similar field
• 5 plus years relevant work experience in the accounting / corporate finance area
• Broad and deep theoretical understanding of job function